Changes in regional cerebral blood flow after hyperventilation in the pig with an induced focal cerebral contusion

Changes in regional cerebral blood flow in anaesthetized pigs with an induced focal cerebral contusion were studied before and after two grades of hyperventilation. A reduction in arterial tension of CO2 with 0.70 mmHg and a further reduction of 0.55 mmHg did not change the CO2 reactivity. Reactivity in both injured and macroscopically normal regions was the same, revealing an average of 39.3% flow change per kPa change in CO2 tension. Regions with low flow after the contusion had an equally big reduction apparently leading to hypoxia because global metabolic rate was unchanged.